Berlin Phil pulls in the crowds

It cost the Perth Concert Hall $1 million and the Sydney Opera House $2.5 million – the biggest punt either had taken on a single tour. But bringing out the Berlin Philharmonic, considered one of the best orchestras in the world, has paid off.

Despite top ticket prices as high as $495 in Sydney and $500 including dinner in Perth, the orchestra’s inaugural tour, which ends in Sydney on Saturday night, has come close to selling out.

That it did so when retail spending is weak (forecasts suggest one-third of Australians plan to spend less on Christmas presents this year) and many audience members are digesting higher interest rates, highlights the huge demand for once-in-a-lifetime high-art events.

The Sydney Theatre Company is also close to sold out – at 92 per cent paid capacity – for Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya, for which it has assembled a dream cast including
Cate Blanchett
,
Hugo Weaving
,
Richard Roxburgh
and
John Bell
.

STC general manager
Patrick McIntyre
says four of its final five productions for the year look set to exceed box-office targets.

“Maybe people are prioritising spending time with friends and family and having experiences over buying objects," he says.

It’s not only special events that are selling well; subscribers for the 2011 season of many of the large performing arts companies appear to be holding up, and the summer Sydney and Perth arts festivals are selling well.

“We’ve sold 5000 more tickets this year than we had at this point in the cycle last year," Sydney Festival general manager
Josephine Ridge
says.

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The top sellers are burlesque show Smoke & Mirrors,
John Malkovich
in chamber-opera play The Giacomo Variations, and singers Sufjan Stevens and Emmylou Harris.

Melbourne Theatre Company general manager
Ann Tonks
says subscription sales are on par with this time last year, and she expects total ticket sales for 2010 to be 7 to 8 per cent above budget.

Sydney Opera House marketing director Victoria Doidge says 60 per cent of its Berlin Phil tickets sold to people on its database and those of associated arts companies, “before we’d spent a single marketing dollar".

“There was no sign of slowness whatsoever," Doidge says. “When it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience, people will pay."

Despite the strong ticket sales, plus income from sponsors and donors, the Opera House will make a loss on the Berlin tour. Doidge will not say how much.

“It’s still an investment for us, but significantly less than we anticipated," she says.

The most expensive tickets were the first to sell in Perth and Sydney. Perth Concert Hall general manager Andrew Bolt expects to “come close to break-even" on the tour.

“It confirms to me that people are prepared to pay for quality," he says. “There’s never been a wider selection for people to choose from, and I think they’re increasingly cherry-picking."

Bolt says that not all ticket buyers are classical buffs. “Over the past 20 years audiences have become more eclectic in their taste," he says. “Nowadays the same people who went to the Berlin Phil will have also bought tickets to [the musical] Chicago, or Simon and Garfunkel."

Australian Ballet executive director
Valerie Wilder
says 2011 subscriptions are up 5 per cent in Sydney on this time last year and 6 per cent in Melbourne. She expects to end the year 10 per cent above budget on single tickets, and up slightly on subscriptions.

A word of warning, however, from Opera Australia, which has the highest box-office income in the country. Marketing director Liz Nield says the company is slightly ahead on subscriptions compared with this time last year, but broader consumer sentiment comes into play if you have a lot to sell. “The Berlin Philharmonic is a one-off, but if you’re selling 216 performances across Sydney and Melbourne, it’s still challenging."